Artistic work and painting in particular, is often carried out in the outdoors while in sight of an inspiring scenery. In other instances, the artist must paint in an area that is not always suited for this purpose, such as a corner of the kitchen or living room for example. Therefore, a primary requirement for an artist easel is believed to be that the apparatus must be foldable and easily transportable inside a house and outdoors.
In another aspect, painting artists generally require a large number of brushes, spatulas, pencils, paint supplies, solvents, towels and other material. It is preferable that these tools, supplies and accessories be deployed over a relatively large surface such that they are not piled over one another, are easy to find and stay relatively clean. It is believed that an ideal easel must also be adapted to support a large number of deployed tools and accessories.
As can be appreciated, painting art may be at times tedious where one has to hold a palette in one hand and a brush in the other hand and perform in a highly concentrated state for extended periods of time, for doing delicate details on a painting for example. Such postures, when kept for long periods are known to cause arm, shoulder and back strains. Therefore, a third requirement for an artist easel is believed to be that the structure thereof should provide arm support to periodically allow a user to rest his/her arms, or to otherwise lay down his/her palette once in a while. It is further believed that an easel should incorporate a handrail on which an artist can place his/her hand when leaning forward close to a painting, such that the strain of the posture is not entirely applied on his/her back.
Furthermore, an artist often sits on a stool, or alternately sits and stands while using an easel. Although this is generally more appropriate than always standing up, it can cause an out of balance condition when one tries to lean forward toward the canvas for example while sitting. Therefore, it is believed that a fourth requirement for an artist easel is that there should be provided one or more footrests to brace a user's foot and stabilize a posture of an artist in a sit position, and to allow an artist to take a standing posture in which he/she can best assure an ideal brush stroke.
It is believed that while some of the easels of the prior art are foldable and provide substantial work area, these easels generally, are lacking a structure capable of relieving arm, shoulder and back strains associated with the use of an easel.
In that respect, a representative group of easels of the prior art is presented hereinbelow.
In a first example, the U.S. Pat. No. 3,165,367 issued on Jan. 12, 1965 to Herman Rose, illustrates an artist easel that can be folded into a tow cart for transportation between outdoor sites. The cart has various compartments for transporting paint supplies and several canvases.
In a second example, the U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,471 issued on Aug. 24, 1965 to Quitman L. Wilson discloses a combined box, easel and table. The device has telescoping legs and retractable trays and drawers, and is foldable into a compact carrying-case arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,045 issued on Feb. 14, 1967 to J. J. Bethoney discloses an easel of the traditional A-frame type. The easel of this invention is particularly easy to fold down into a package of small size for convenient transportation.
Another artist stand is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,319 issued on Dec. 26, 1967 to W. R. Hocking. This invention has the form of a stand with a rectangular upper work surface disposed at about waist height. The stand is supported on four legs and a storage compartment is formed below the work surface. The two rear legs carry wheels for transporting the stand from place to place.
Other artist easels of the prior alt are described in the following U.S. Patents. All these devices are characterized by the fact that the work surface available to the artist to deploy his/her tools is relatively small and concentrated in one location, that is in the front or alongside a user.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,368,786 issued on Feb. 13, 1968 to O. Bulman; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,456 issued on Nov. 4, 1969 to D. M. Canavan; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 3,514,173 issued on May 26, 1970 to T. E. Ford;
As can be appreciated, the structures of artist easels of the prior all lack the essential elements pertaining to the ergonomics associated with a use thereof. Therefore, it is believed that a need exists for an easel that has structural features which make it safe for use by individuals having different postural preferences, and which simultaneously provide to users a practical workshop environment and space efficiency.